Broad shows his all-round class as England close in on victory

England were wary of demanding too much of Stuart Broad before this tour through fear that his body was not yet ready for the stresses and strains of Test cricket. Not any more.

Broad, still only 21, has been a fixture of the England one-day side for a year now and he will be hard to shift from the Test team after a superb performance in the decisive third match to leave England only five wickets from victory at the end of the fourth day.

Stuart Broad celebrates the dismissal of New Zealand's Grant Elliott as England edge towards victory in the series

He made his Test debut on the flattest of surfaces at Colombo before Christmas and had a similarly unhelpful pitch to cope with here at McLean Park on the fourth day of his third Test appearance as England set New Zealand a monumental 553 to win this match and the series.

Andrew Strauss had only been able to add four to his overnight 173 but, in the 35 minutes that Michael Vaughan decided to bat on for on the fourth morning, Broad showed that he has the potential, with a classy unbeaten 31, to be England's best number eight in years before then excelling in his primary role with the ball.

Ryan Sidebottom looked tired after his Herculean efforts in this series and in Sri Lanka while Jimmy Anderson again reverted to exasperating mode after his flirtation with success in Wellington as New Zealand went about their attempt to bat for five and a half sessions to save the series. Enter Broad and Monty Panesar, finally able to enjoy a leading role after his bit-part appearances in this series.

Panesar has had a frustrating winter. Sri Lanka was chastening for him but here he appears to have bowled better without ever enjoying a responsive surface or an opportunity to stamp his mark on proceedings.

The second Test had been one to forget for Panesar both for the missed chances off his left-arm spin and the return of his misfields at their worst but he followed instructions to be more aggressive with his fielding here before playing a huge part with the ball in the push for victory.

This was perhaps Panesar's best spell of the winter, a reminder that he remains a formidable weapon for England even when, like here, there was little spin for him to exploit.

Broad also has success with the bat to secure 31 not out when England declared

Panesar has talked about being braver, of not being afraid to vary his pace and angle of attack at the crease. This was not really a fair test of his new-found resolve to be bold because conditions dictated that his best mode of attack was building up pressure through accuracy.

Yet there was enough guile to give him the first three New Zealand wickets, his trapping of Jamie How being followed by his dismissal of Matthew Bell and Stephen Fleming just when it seemed that the Black Caps, after reaching 147 for one, were going to make a decent fist of their survival bid.

The dismissal of Fleming brought an end to a career that will see him remembered as one of New Zealand's best batsmen and almost certainly their best captain and his departure here, to a smart catch from Tim Ambrose, proved to be the perfect microcosm of his 14 years in the team.

Fleming, in his 111th and final Test, again looked in sublime form in reaching 66 before he fell for a score in excess of 50 but below 100 for the 46th time in his Test career.

If he could only have pushed on more often when set he would have recorded many more centuries than nine and been regarded as one of the greats. At least he finished with an average of 40, however, after scoring the 53 he needed in his final innings to reach the accepted level of a very good player.

"I walked off frustrated, which I've done 50 or 60 times in my career," said Fleming, who entered to a guard of honour from Michael Vaughan and the England players.

"I had a wry smile to myself because I thought it was a fitting end for me to get out for another score of 50 plus. If I had reached a century it would have been an anomaly. I'm only just satisfied with my career because I'll always feel I under-achieved. I couldn't convert enough of my starts and I really don't know why that is."

There is steel underneath Fleming's calm exterior and he was quick to interject here when Broad had words with Matthew Bell after almost trapping him lbw just before tea.

Fleming, at the non-striker's end, alerted umpire Rudi Koertzen to the spat and then had words with Vaughan as the players left the field for the interval.

It was, in truth, a minor incident but it again showed that Broad is not afraid to mix it and he went on to produce both aggression and accuracy in a 14-over spell either side of tea in which he dismissed both Mathew Sinclair and Grant Elliott with short balls.

Broad came into the second Test at the expense of Steve Harmison and, with those wickets on a flat pitch, showed that England need not worry that they will lose their hostility with the departure of the Geordie from the side.

Broad, who also scored an invaluable 42 and took three wickets in the first innings, was certainly not fazed in getting into an argument with someone as eminent as Fleming.

"I just have a stare and batsmen don't seem to like it and start chuntering away," said Broad. "It's part of being a bowler. You have to try to make a batsman uncomfortable because you're not just there to give them a hit."

It is an attitude that has already made him an established England player. And it is one that is likely to see him thrive for many a year to come.